What He Saw
by LemonFerret
Summary: "While it was so agonizingly obvious to everyone else that Naruto was extremely thin, Naruto didn't, couldn't see it for himself." Naruto has an eating disorder, and Sasuke finds out. Pretty dark. Can be seen as SasuNaru or just a friend hurt/comfort fic.


A/N – Personal Life = Shit. And when that happens, poor Naru-chan tends to suffer. *evil cackle*

I was originally going to make this a yaoi but then I decided against it… So you can see this as either a SasuNaru or as just a friend hurt/comfort fic, whichever you want. :D

_Italics _are thoughts.

**Warning:** contains eating disorder and angst. Enjoy!

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><p>Naruto stood in his bathroom in nothing but his boxers, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His smooth skin, once the color of sun-kissed gold, now had a sickly gray tinge to it; his muscles, once round and firm, had withered away to nothing, leaving behind only jutting bones and translucent skin. His eyes, once a brilliant blue, were now dulled in color; his face had sunken in entirely, eyes protruding out from bruised purple rings. His frame, once beautiful, had decayed.<p>

But that wasn't what he saw.

The blonde gazed at his body and saw only _fat. So much fat. I should lose weight, I'm starting to look like Choji_–

Both eyes and hands traveled down to his midsection, where he pulled at nonexistent flab and grabbed at invisible love handles. _I guess all that Ichiraku Ramen has been taking its toll on me, dattebayo. Maybe I should start dieting. I'll ask Ino-chan about it later…_

He paused in his self-criticism to cough. For a minute he stood there, hacking and wheezing, his throat irritated and raw from misuse. He had to grab at the wall to support himself as the coughs caused his head to spin and his vision to falter. Blood pounded in his ears.

His thoughts went to the three bowls of ramen he had downed less than an hour ago. Looking back at the mirror, he stared at his stick-like limbs, imagining them jiggling with the fat that the three bowls of ramen would undoubtedly cause. Not noticing the way the edges of his vision blurred and how black spots clouded his eyes, Naruto walked over to the toilet. Kneeling down, he viciously stuck two fingers down his throat, successfully purging his body of the _fat. So much fat, dattebayo. So much_…

As soon as he was done Naruto leaned back, breathing heavily and ignoring the familiar acrid taste on his tongue. _I… can't breathe…_

Suddenly giving out, his body collapsed, sending the blonde crashing to the floor. He lay there, panting for breath, watching as the little black spots at the edges of his vision started to take over his eyes until all he could see was black. _I hope I got rid of the fat, at least now I won't get any bigger…But I can't breathe, dattebayo. I can't breathe…_

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><p>"Naruto?"<p>

Sasuke stood in the doorway of Naruto's apartment, a scroll from Kakashi held loosely in his hands. "Dobe, you there? I have the details for the next mission." Closing the door behind him, Sasuke walked nonchalantly to where he knew the Dobe's room was. _Tch, Dobe's probably still asleep, he's such a loser._

However, Sasuke rounded the corner only to find an empty bed. A look of confusion crossed his normally impassive face and he paused momentarily. _Hmm… maybe the Dobe's in the kitchen… _But the kitchen was just as deserted as the bedroom was. _Well, that leaves the bathroom. _Ignoring the strange feeling of unease that had suddenly gripped him, Sasuke walked over to Naruto's bathroom. The door was ajar. "Dobe, you there? I've been calling for you." Stepping forward, Sasuke pushed open the door – and his breath caught at the sight before him.

Naruto lay passed out on his side next to the toilet. Sasuke's eyes widened as he took in his teammate's emaciated form, staring at the blonde's ribs, his collarbones, his unsettling _lack of stomach_. Sasuke ran forward and it was suddenly made apparent from the contents of the toilet bowl that Naruto had been throwing up.

And in one horrible moment, Sasuke understood.

With a panicked expression, Sasuke leaned over the blonde and shook him. "Naruto? Naruto, wake up! Dobe!" Sasuke's voice was an octave higher than usual. "C'mon, wake up Dobe!" Naruto stirred faintly, and Sasuke inched closer to the blonde on the floor. "Naruto?"

Naruto's face twitched before purple eyelids slid slowly back. It took a few seconds for the image his eyes were seeing to make sense. "Ssss…Sa – suke?" he whispered. Suddenly a bout of coughing overcame him and Naruto started convulsing, his frail body shaking with the force of each shuddering cough. This shook Sasuke out of his momentary reverie; leaning forward with an exclamation of concern, he lifted Naruto's head and placed it on his lap in an attempt to clear the blonde's airway. As the seconds ticked by, Sasuke couldn't help but stare at the way his friend's ribs moved with each cough, and at the way the convulsions made the blonde's spine stand out so much that he half thought it would pop out of Naruto's back. Finally the hacking stopped, and Naruto's body went limp once more. Ultimately, it was the sound of his teammate's labored breathing that snapped Sasuke out of his momentary shock. Snaking his hands behind the blonde's neck and knees, Sasuke lifted Naruto up, holding the small body almost protectively to his chest. _He… barely weighs anything…_ Moving to the door, Sasuke knew that Naruto needed help, that he had to be taken to the hospital. Just as he was about to exit the apartment, however, a feeble whimper froze him. "Naruto?" Sasuke whispered eyes wide.

Naruto's eyes were still shut, and his voice was so small that Sasuke had to lean in to hear it. "Don't… don't hold me… like this… You'll hurt your – your back… I'm too… heavy for you… to carry…"

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><p>Naruto woke up slowly, first becoming aware of his dull headache, and then of his arms, his legs, and the rest of his <em>big large fat <em>body. He became aware of a steady beeping noise and a comfortable pillow under his head, and it was only after groggily opening his eyes that he realized that he was in a hospital bed. _What-?_

A soft sound to his left cut off his confusion. Turning his head slowly, Naruto turned his pale face toward the noise. It was Sasuke. He was sitting on a chair next to the bed Naruto lay on; he was slouched forward, his head in his arms, his arms on the bed next to Naruto's left leg. _Why… is he shaking?_ Naruto opened his mouth to ask, but a sudden sharp pain in his throat mangled his words, so that what came out was a weak "S'ske?"

At the sound of the whisper Sasuke's head shot up, giving Naruto an unobstructed view of Sasuke's tear-stained cheeks and puffy, red eyes. _Wha-? Sasuke-teme is crying?_

Sasuke blinked twice, and gasped "Naruto!" Sasuke lunged forward and pulled Naruto into a firm hug. Naruto was shocked to feel Sasuke trembling. Sasuke pulled back, wiping frustratedly at his eyes, and then turned his eyes to the half-dead blonde lying in the bed. "What were you thinking? We're all so worried about you, Dobe! Sakura wouldn't stop crying for hours!" Sasuke yelled, angrily gesturing behind him toward a small pink figure asleep in a chair in the corner of the room.

Naruto blinked, uncomprehending. "You… you were a-all worried about me?" he rasped.

Naruto thought Sasuke was going to start crying again. "Are you serious? You're _starving yourself_, Dobe!" he screamed. "You weigh seventy-two pounds! Of course we're _worried_!"

Naruto blinked again. Twice. "But…"

"But _what_?" Sasuke shrieked.

"But I'm… so _fat_. Isn't it good that I'm losing weight, dattebayo?"

Sasuke stared at the blonde, at the blonde boy whose hip bones were agonizingly visible even through the bed sheets. "Naruto…" Sasuke whispered, "I – you… I think you need help."

"What do you mean, dattebayo?"

Sasuke realized then that it was going to be useless trying to convince Naruto that he wasn't fat, that he was indeed so dangerously skinny that his heart had actually stopped during the time it had taken Sasuke to bring him to the hospital and that it had taken the medical genius of Tsunade and ten assistants just to keep him alive that day. Sasuke knew. He just did. Because while it was so agonizingly obvious to everyone else that Naruto was extremely thin, Naruto didn't, _couldn't _see it for himself. What he saw and what Sasuke saw were different. And ultimately, it would be what he saw that would kill him.

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><p>AN - All reviews are appreciated! Arigato!


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